Notre Dame of Maryland University will introduce its new president in style next month, with a week-long series of events including an installation ceremony on April 5 and a Presidential Day of Service on April 7 to benefit Baltimore City Head Start.

James Conneely, 55, is the first man to lead the university in its 116-year history. The board of trustees hired him last February to succeed Mary Pat Seurkamp, who was retiring after 15 years as Notre Dame's president.

Conneely came from Eastern Kentucky University, where he was associate provost for enrollment and vice president for student affairs. The Notre Dame job is his first as president.

He is the second layperson to lead Notre Dame, which was founded in 1895 as a Catholic women's college.

The week of celebrations will start with an Inauguration Mass April 4 at 5:30 p.m. in the Marikle Chapel of the Annunciation, followed by a poetry jam in Fourier Hall. Seating for the Mass is limited and by reservation, university officials said.

An inaugural procession will wend its way from Gibbons to LeClerc halls April 5, starting at 11:30 a.m., and the installation ceremony will follow at LeClerc from noon to 1:30 p.m. Then, at 2:30 p.m., a Scholarship Showcase will be held at various ocations around the campus. An inaugural ball is scheduled at 7 p.m. in the school gymnasium.

On April 6, an Open House Picnic will be held behind Fourier Hall from 4 to 6 p.m., followed by a National Drawing and Print Competitive Exhibition at Gormley Art Gallery in Fourier Hall at 7 p.m., and musical performances in LeClerc, with a minmum suggested donation of $20.

The day of service to benefit Head Start is scheduled from 10 a.m to 2 p.m., in LeClerc Auditorium, with students, graduates, faculty and staff participating.

And on April 10, author Alice McDermott will be the guest speaker at a Scholarship Fundraising Dinner at 5:30 p.m. in Doyle Hall, sponsored by the Continuing Education Chapter of the Alumnae and Alumni Association. A book signing will follow.